The words spoken so calmly, seemingly in her usual tone, a cold and dangerous chill rung from it. The look on Rhetta's face was dark and dangerous. An unfamiliar expression of rage is present.
Khio said nothing and handed her sword over without so much a debate or comment.
Rhetta unsheathed the sword, discarding the blade. She repeats the action with her own sword, until she is only left with two empty sheaths. The swords remained forgotten on the ground, Florian noticed how oddly serene Khio seemed. She turned her attention to the spooked horses instead.
Florian looked at Rhetta leaving, marching straight towards the knights and opted to go with her. Khio grabbed Florian's arm with a firm grip and held her back, Khio just shook her head.
"Leave this to Rhetta, there's nothing you can do right now." The weight of Khio's words felt like a cautionary tale.
Florian trusted Khio's sense enough knowing if she had to worry Khio would have been the one on the front line before her anyway. Though admittedly seeing Rhetta acting so out of character was worrisome. The nonchalant display Khio gave felt as if she is accustomed to seeing Rhetta like this.
Rhetta walked out of the hiding place, to the road and stalked towards the knights with two sheaths in hand.
"Deplorable insects!" She muttered through gritted teeth.
The knights turn their attention towards her, noting the emptied sheaths in her hand and they all burst out into laughter at the sight. Five knights to one Rhetta, the odds were unfavourable and Florian felt nervous just leaving Rhetta to fight alone.
"We should help-" Florian says
Khio chuckled, "Despite her personality, a lot of people don't know..."
The knight stops kicking the child and points his sword towards Rhetta, taking slow heavy steps towards her in an attempt to intimidate her. "It's my lucky day, finding the most wanted traitor here! Isn't that right, Lady Edevane?" He pauses for a brief moment, and lunges towards her. Rhetta side steps and easily evades the sword. She swings a heavy blow to the back of the knight's knee, forcing him to kneel. Without breaking her pace she swings the other sheath into the knight's face eliciting a thunder-like crack.
"Rhetta is one of the strongest knights there is." Khio finished her previous comment, feeling smug at her dramatic pause for effect.
He falls to the ground, unconscious and bloody. Rhetta swings her sheath to get rid of the excess blood. Her cold eyes drift to the remaining four men. Their laughter ceased and was replaced by looks of horror and fear.
The first order of knights is comprised of those of noble birth, many send a proxy to fight on their behalf and have never had to experience real combat outside of the training.
One of the knights breaks the silence and impulsively rushes at her, the courage of one rallies the others into action. Rhetta takes the initiative, one powerful push from the ground lunges her towards them. Using both of her 'weapons' in tandem she hits the knight in the stomach and kicks him back onto the ground.
The men swarm her, Rhetta gracefully evades making it look like child's play. She delivers precise blows that drop the enemies quickly and break their formation. A sword drops with heavy force, she blocks it with the sheath, letting go of the other to use her fist and punch the knight square in the face until he falls to the floor. The sight of Rhetta is outright cruel, brutal, and calculated in nature. The man who started the endeavour with his needless violence begins crawling away.
"M-mercy...spare me...please." He whimpers and cries, Rhetta looks down at her clothing and looks at all of the blood spatter.
"You think begging will be enough? Look at this. You see this stain? It wasn't there before you brat." Rhetta perfectly recites the knight's unpleasant words right back to him and crushes his hand under her shoe. The force and collision obviously painful between his screams and the disconcerting crunch.
"You see your hands? These hands, as a knight are meant to protect. A knight's duty is not to oppress and harass the weak. To that end...I will make sure that you never hold a sword again." Rhetta crushes his hand again, digging her boot into the ground as hard as she can. The knight chokes on his sobs, whining and crying out in pain. Rhetta kneels down to check the state of his hand.
"Quit your crying! I've only broken three of your fingers."
She stands, walks over to her sheath and picks it up. She holds it up, the metal lined end aimed above his hand when she plunges it down and breaks his remaining fingers. He continues to cry, and Rhetta stands over the weeping man without an ounce of care nor consideration in her expression.
"D-Don't move!" A sputtering shout is aimed towards Rhetta, a knight with blood dripping down his face holds a child in his vice grip. A sword pressed to her throat and the light drop of blood trickles down the neck while the child cries quietly, too scared to make a single sound.
Khio notices this, and she quickly sneaks in. Taking fast moving steps while the knight is fixated on Rhetta. One of the fallen knights tries to warn him, and is quickly silenced by Rhetta.
Khio gets behind the knight and kicks the side of his head as hard as she possibly can. The impact rips him from the child and sends him tumbling into the dirt and blood mixed mud. Florian gently pulls the young girl away from the conflict and soothes her, the young boy runs and hugs his sister in relief.
Khio steps on the head of the knight who resorted to something so cowardly and presses his face into the dirt.
"You slimy bastard! You're lucky that I won't skin you alive and feed you to my beasts!" Khio screams. "I'll haunt you like a curse! You and all your kin! You fat-kindneyed fopdoodle!"
Rhetta sighs and shakes her head while the boy holds his hands over his sister's ears and Florian does the same for him.
The young boy looks up at Florian, "Miss...What does 'fat-kidneyed fopdoodle' mean?"
Florian and Rhetta are startled and freeze at the sudden question...They didn't want to explain profanity to such a young and innocent child. The kind of language that Khio used when upset could make a mercenary blush... Rhetta and Florian look at one another thinking the sudden copying and use of a word heard once, paired with curiosity brings about a mutual thought. 'Children are scary...'
Rhetta draws in a deep breath and exhales, finally settling into her normal self while Florian easily picks up the fallen knights like a sack of potatoes. She tosses them off the road side into a semi-organized pile.
Khio offers a kind expression to the children as she kneels. The three notice the hands and feet of the children; injured, scarred and chapped. Florian inspects the wounds closer "May I treat you?" she inquires, the children hold anxiety but they look at one another and hesitantly nod.
Florian digs through her satchel, tenderly holding the hands of the children as she spreads some herbal salves onto some makeshift bandages and gently wraps their hands and feet.
Khio runs ahead to retrieve the horses while Rhetta goes to gather up the basket and the things that had fallen out of them. She picks up the random mix of objects, noticing a folded up note amongst the mix. She initially thinks nothing of it, but finds it out of place, as does a cloth hiding the bottom half of the basket. Rhetta lifts the cloth revealing numerous triangular medicine packets, there are hundreds. She recognised it, but had to confirm her suspicions. She opened one of the packets and a scarlet powder lay inside. Drugs. The little colourful triangular medicine packs were nothing other than ornaments to disguise the fact they were drugs. Rhetta grabs the note and reads it.
Another main shipment from the Spring villa, quality assessment done please send 'E' our humble regards.
Oracle, the name of a drug that swept throughout the empire. The name Oracle came directly from the mouths of those who used it, believing the hallucinations allowed them to hear the voice of the gods. Thus it was dubbed 'Oracle.'
The drug is famous amongst nobles and commoners alike, only difference between the two; the nobles could afford to maintain their habit with funds and secrecy.
Commoners often died trying to find their next dose. People who use it frequently never show any overt symptoms until using it for too long. Its toll became like a sickness, people would wither away and lose their minds, some even became completely insane.
The usual dose isn't enough to attain that pure elation, the body craves more than it can handle until the body finally gives out.
Rhetta looked at the children and the basket, she packed everything back the way she found it. Pretending not to see anything at all.
'It's obvious they don't know what this is...Even if they did, there's nothing they could do. If I take it away the children will be the ones to get punished.'
Rhetta finishes packing everything and notices how the children flinch at every touch. She kneels down to their eye level, and speaks in a soft tone. "What is your name?"
The children lower their heads in Rhetta's presence, not out of fear but rather from habit.
"M-Maral, miss..." The young girl stutters out. Rhetta smiles, "Maral is a lovely name."
"Dren." The boy states curtly
"Thank you Maral, Dren. We're heading to the village now, would you like to go with us?"
Khio promptly returns while leading the horses, looking at the children who gaze up at the horses with unease. Rhetta and Khio mount their horses to display their safety. Florian approaches slowly, a kind expression on her face. "I'm going to lift you now..." Florian waited for the small nod that Maral gave. "Up we go!" Florian holds Maral up until Rhetta takes her into her arms from there and settles the fascinated girl in front of her. Maral looks at the ground from where she sat, marvelling at the sight. "It's so high!" she giggled.
Maral looks happy with the situation, in contrast to a nervous looking Dren who treats the group with uncertainty and apprehension. Florian grins and lifts him easily, Dren struggles in her grip being slightly embarrassed over being lifted so easily. Khio pulls him onto the horse and ruffles his hair playfully. "Relax kid! You'll be safe with sis' Khio" Dren looks at the sight and can understand why Maral got so excited.
"See? Nothing to worry about, you're safe with us."
Dren looks down, almost on the verge of tears with some form of release from his emotional burdens, day in and day out. Being the one to protect his sister and be strong when he felt helpless, never showing it because he worried about Maral first. He wanted to cry with the feeling of being the one protected.